South Africa vs Australia third Test match has concluded as the Proteas have made a sensational comeback after losing the first match of the series. They won it 2-1 after beating the Aussies by 176 runs and have been ranked as the No.1 Test side. After the match, skipper Temba Bavuma opened up about the team’s performance.

Speaking after the win, Temba Bavuma was happy with the team’s performance. He was delighted with the way the crowd turned up at Newlands, Cape Town, filling the stands throughout the five days, and credited the team’s bowling attack, which has impressed in this series. He called this series against Australia one of the best series that he has played.

Marques Ackerman stood tall for South Africa

Australia won the toss and elected to field first. Both sides made one change each, which was a forced one. South Africa had a brilliant start as the two openers stitched 158 runs for the first wicket; Marcus Ackerman scored 95 runs off 94 deliveries. His opening partner, Aiden Markram, scored 70 runs, and David Bedingham scored 50.

The middle order collapsed, but Marco Jansen came to the rescue, as he played a knock of 52 runs. Mitchell Starc was the pick of the bowlers as he helped Australia make a good comeback, picking 6/72, with South Africa finishing on the score of 329 runs.

Josh Inglis' century goes in vain

Australia, in the first innings, took a hundred-run lead as Matt Renshaw scored 70 runs, with other opener Travis Head scoring 41 runs. Cameron Green scored 65, and Josh Inglis, who was brought in for this Test, played a sensational knock of 102 runs and was well supported by Alex Carey, who scored 80 runs; the Kangaroos scored 429 runs.

After struggling at 181/5 at one stage for the home side, from there Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder stitched a 154-run partnership. The former scored 101 runs, and Mulder scored 115 runs as they put up the target of 290 runs for the Aussies.

Australia had no answer in the second innings as they kept on losing wickets. Simon Harmer and Kagiso Rabada rattled the batting for the Kangaroos. They were bowled out for 111 runs, with surprisingly Nathan Lyon becoming the leading scorer with 33 runs.

"It does make your job a lot easier": Temba Bavuma credits South Africa's bowling attack

After the match, Temba Bavuma was asked about the atmosphere of the Newlands ground. He thanked the crowd for turning up every day in large numbers. throughout the five days and credited Kagiso Rabada’s strong start for helping the team take control. He lauded Simon Harmer’s champion mindset after bouncing back from disappointment in Gqeberha.

Temba Bavuma said after the match (as quoted by Cricbuzz), "[On the support from the Newlands crowd] I think you got to, you got to acknowledge the Newlands faithful. All five days you were struggling to, to find empty bums on the seats. I think in terms of the game as well, they definitely added their, their extra sauce to it. And we're glad the people came out and witnessed our performance."

"[On the strength and depth of South Africa's bowling attack] It does make your job a lot easier. I think our bowling attack, it's been the backbone of our team. So I think very dynamic within our bowling attack and I mean super, super happy for a guy like Simon. He was disappointed in Gqeberha after how he went about there. And the way that he's bounced back here speaks to that champion mindset of his."

"Yeah, that's exceptional": Temba Bavuma on South Africa achieving No.1 Test ranking

Temba Bavuma stated that he is happy for the team regaining the top of the Test ranking. It has always been the team’s ambition, and they are pushing hard to get the best out of the team and set a high standard. They will celebrate the milestone, and also this series against Australia is the best his side have played.

Temba Bavuma further added, "[On reclaiming the No. 1 Test ranking] Yeah, that's exceptional. I think that's obviously been a part of our ambition as a team. We're trying to push that standard as high as, as high as we can. And, with this opportunity that we have, we want to leave the Proteas badge in a better place. So we will definitely celebrate that milestone as a team."

Temba Bavuma said, "[Where does this win rank?] Definitely up there. I mean every time you get an opportunity to come up against Australia, you savour that. You obviously want to get the better of them and you know that you're going to work very hard. So I mean this, not just this game, but this series is one - I don't think I've been involved in a better series like that. So yeah, this is definitely there at number one."